


The Three Mistakes

by Tial



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Kidnapping, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:30:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7978456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tial/pseuds/Tial
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys could safely say he had made three mistakes the previous night.<br/>1. He went to a new nightclub<br/>2. He went to said new nightclub with Yvette instead of Vaughn<br/>3. He had locked eyes with a mysterious stranger</p><p>Needless to say, he fucked up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Was All Yvette's Fault

There were three mistakes that Rhys had made last night that he could clearly see had led to the mess he was in at the moment, lying in an obnoxiously minimalistic room that he didn’t recognise. Those three things that he really shouldn’t have done, he’d done because unfortunately it seems, he has absolutely zero self-preservation skills; a huge problem when half the town sees your kind as prey.

The first mistake of the night was going to that bloody nightclub in the first place. Everyone knows that if a new nightclub opens up in town; you have to wait until it has developed some kind of a reputation before you go, just to be sure that it isn’t just a front for some kind of really technically-legal but morally wrong slave trade. Okay, maybe they don’t know that last bit, but they know enough to figure out that going to a new nightclub when you’re human is basically asking to get into a mess with some kind of supernatural creature or another. But of course, he went. Apparently all Yvette had to do was bat an eye and he was eating out of the palm of her hand; doing whatever she wanted. He’d even accuse her of witchcraft if he hadn’t previously experienced being on the receiving end of her magic; now that was unnerving…

Actually, that led him to the second mistake of the night; going to the club with Yvette instead of Vaughn. Again, common knowledge was that should you be stupid enough to end up going to the mysterious and weirdly ominous new club in town, you were to make sure that you bring your reliable werewolf bro instead of your witch friend who would totally abandon you to make out with a random chick with a cool hat the entire night. But really, the biggest mistake, the one he most regrets, is meeting the eye of a handsome stranger. He didn’t mean to. He was just sitting at the bar, nursing his rum and coke while playing Candy Crush on his phone (hey, he was bored and it was honestly better than watching Yvette trying to shove her tongue down someone’s throat. There are some things you never what to see a friend who is like a sister to you do.), Rhys didn’t even notice the man until he sat on the stool beside him; signalling to the bartender for his regular. He obviously knew the violet-haired woman behind the bar.

“Hey kitten, what are you doing here, sitting all alone?” A low voice spoke in his ear. Rhys shuddered, though he quickly schooled his fearful expression to one of disinterest. Yvette was too busy to be of any help at that moment and fear was a dangerous response, as some supernatural like the chase, the fear in their victim’s eyes. It may seem overly careful but really, you could never be too careful as there’s always a possibility that a stranger could be looking for more than just a friendly chat.

“I’m not alone, I was just waiting for a friend who’s in the bathroom”

“She must be taking her time”

So the man had been watching him? Shit. He needs to contact Vaughn, now. And… no signal. That can’t be a coincidence, there had been no issue the entire night. He must be a supernatural which meant Rhys needed to keep his head down.

“Yeah, well, she’s a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to her makeup”

“Is that so? I’m surprised she hasn’t made you wear any. I’m sure you’d look even more adorable with some makeup on”

He really needs to stop blushing every time someone compliments him. The voice beside him chuckles. “Well it looks like you won’t need the blush… but maybe lipstick for your gorgeous lips. I imagine red would look beautiful on you”

Rhys tried to ignore the man, knowing that the flirting was probably just a ploy, a way to catch him off guard. But Rhys couldn’t help but respond when he felt a hand slowly raise his chin up. However, as soon as Rhys looked up in shock he knew he made a horrible mistake. He vaguely thought the word ‘vampire’ before he found he was struggling to think clearly. Mismatched eyes, one blue and one green meet his own and he was trapped. He was lost in the man’s eyes while he felt an overwhelming sense of calm flow over him. He didn’t even respond when the man grabbed his hand and took him over to a corner in the club where the man leaned over and started kissing his neck. Rhys just bent his head submissively so the man had more room. They spent several minutes like that, the man kissing and licking his neck while Rhys just stood there looking dazed and hopelessly lost. That was until Rhys’ phone rang. That seemed to break the trance as he immediately stared at the man with fear clear in his eyes. He quickly pushed the man away, and tried to make an escape.

That was until he heard the man shout. 

“Stop”

He was suddenly unable to move. 

“You didn’t think you could get away that easily, did you kitten?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... I'm sorry. I've never written a fanfiction before and I really suck at grammar & characterisation so I honestly don't know what I'm thinking, but I'll try? I just really feel like this fandom needs more cliché vampire stories. More tags to come if I continue this. Unbetaed. 
> 
> Also I'd appreciate feedback even if it is just "Hey, this is pretty ok" or "Hey, this is just awful", I just wanna know where I'm at, you know? But anyway, thanks for reading!


	2. New Friends

That was about all he could remember anyway, after that it kind of all blended into a massive, unintelligible blur. Though he was still in the clothes he was wearing last night so nothing untoward had happened (thankfully) but he just couldn’t figure what else had happened last night or how he got here. Actually where was here? It was a bedroom so he was guessing that he was at the man’s house but the room gave no clues whatsoever other than that the man has to have some large amount of money. This was because the modern, monochromatic room just seemed to scream, ‘I am ridiculously rich but I still don’t have enough money to buy any kind of personality’. It was then that he heard a sound like a pot falling to the ground followed by a string of low curses and a boisterous laugh. Shit. Rhys slowly got up, careful not to make any loud noises and crept to the door. He couldn’t just sit in a strange bed all morning, regretting his life choices. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on and why he was here.

He pulled the door open and started walking through a hallway that was the same shade of bored extravagance as the bedroom. As he walked, he started to hear the voices more clearly, two of them, one sounded like the man from the night before while the other sounded feminine.

“…I just want to make sure he feels comfortable; humans need to eat”

“Kiddo, I’m pretty sure Jackie just stole him from the nightclub so I’m not sure if food’ll automatically endear him to us but hey, knock yourself out”

“It’s at least…”

The voice trailed off as Rhys neared the door and he immediately stopped. Waiting a few minutes, he thought he was fine until he heard a voice speak right into his ear.

_Come on in, cutie. There’s no point in waiting out there._

He jumped in shock, unsure as to what just happened. He tried to trace his steps back to the bedroom when he heard the voice appear again.

_Come on, Kitten…_

Oh god, that’s creepy. Rhys decided to follow the voice’s instructions just to get it to go away. A disembodied voice was about the last thing he wanted to hear, alone but for strangers in a house he’d never been before. As soon as he opened the door to the room he’d heard the voices come from (a kitchen from the sounds of it), he was met with two pairs of eyes. One belonged to a gorgeous woman with dark skin and deep, brown eyes, that were intense in a way that reminded him just how vulnerable he was as a human. It was obvious that she was a vampire as well, if it wasn’t the glint of her fangs as she smiled at him, it was the air of power she seemed to exert. He struggled to not stay focussed on her striking eyes but eventually he pulled himself away to look at the other figure, the man from yesterday, except… not? His face looked exactly the same; blue and green eyes, tanned skin and strong build but he didn’t look like the night before. His shocked expression looked like it was out of place on that face and there was something different that Rhys couldn’t quite put his finger on. But he had no time to dwell on that as he turned his gaze to the woman who had started to stalk up to him.

“Aw, you’re just as cute as Jackie said. A little lanky perhaps… but lanky can be fun”

She walked up until she was almost completely in Rhys’ personal space and he was quick to step back. At that, she stepped forward with a smirk on her face.

“Nah ah ah. I wanna have a good look at you to see what I’m working with”

She placed her hand under his chin and he was once again forced to look into a vampire’s eyes. But this time he didn’t feel any kind of magic or trance, she simply looked him over and inspected him. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for but after a few moments she nodded, letting her hand fall and looked over to the man behind her.

“Who are you?”

He braved the question once her intense gaze was no longer on him but immediately regretted it as her attention drifted back to him.

“The name’s Nisha though some call me Ms Kadam. A few even call me Mistress, maybe we’ll get to know each other well enough for you to fit into that category. You look like you’d enjoy it”

She winked very pointedly and Rhys felt his cheeks grow red. Damn it.

“Nisha…”

The man behind her warned with a concerned look aimed at Rhys. Again, the look just did not suit the man he had met last night and he was beginning to feel a little unnerved.

“Oh don’t worry, Timmy. I’m not gonna break him yet. I’ll let Jackie have his fun first and then I’ll have mine. Then maybe we’ll have our fun together…”

Rhys was really trying to ignore that comment and from the looks of it, so was this ‘Timmy’.

“Who’s ‘Jackie’?”

Nisha looked almost shocked at that but quickly her features fell into a face that said ‘why am I even surprised anymore’.

“Jack didn’t introduce himself.”

“No?”

A sigh.

“Jack was the one who you met at the bar… if you can remember that much. He looks like this guy except without the cute freckles”

She pointed to the man beside her who smiled warmly at Rhys.

“So, you’re not the man I met?”

“What? Um, no. I’m not, my name’s Timothy. I’m his brother”

“But-“

“Twin brother, I know I look a lot like him and I’m really sorry if I scared you”

Timothy’s smile dropped a little, he obviously didn’t like the familial resemblance. Rhys made a mental note to not mention that again. If they had to talk again. There was still the matter of where the hell he was to think about, which was slightly more pressing than hurting a vampire’s feelings.

“Okay… So, now that I know who ‘Jack’ is, I need to know; why am I here?”

Nisha and Timothy looked at each other for a moment before Nisha spoke up again.

“You’re here because Jack wants you as his thrall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm absolutely amazed by the response to the first chapter, thank you soo much for the kudos and lovely comments :D  
> I hope you like this chapter, it's a little longer than the last as I'm really trying to not fall into the trap of being too succinct and not focusing on the interesting parts (which is difficult when you usually write flash fiction!)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this and thank you for your support!


	3. Names

“No, no, I’m not anyone’s slave! I’m leaving. Right now!”

Rhys was panicking. Thrall? No, no way. He had stayed safe for 26 years, kept his head down, there was no way that that could have been for nothing. Nisha stepped back when she noticed him start to shake.

“I wouldn’t recommend trying that, sweet thing. Jackie brought us here to make sure that didn’t go running off while he was otherwise occupied”

“Well, I’m sorry but you’re gonna have to tell him I’m not interested in being his thrall and he’ll just have to get over it”

Rhys stood as tall as he could, trying to act as confident as possible as he firmly made his way towards the door, intending to try and find his way out of this house and subsequently the terrifying situation he was in. He was, however, stopped as he felt a hand placing itself gently on his shoulder. When he turned around he met Timothy’s eyes, he tried to prepare himself for the unnerving feeling of being controlled that he had felt when Jack had stared at him but he didn’t feel anything. Timothy just looked at him with a great deal of what looked like sympathy

“Don’t be stupid, kid. Jack is…persistent. Even if we were to let you go-“

“And we won’t”

“Even if we did, Jack will find you again. And he won’t let you go because he is not one to just let something go. He has too much pride for that, it’s best that you just keep your head done and accept it. That’s really the only way to deal with Jack”  
The sympathetic look turned into a bitter smile and again Rhys got the feeling that Timothy wasn’t a big fan of his twin.

“Look, I don’t know your history with this guy but I’m not going to just give in and become someone’s thrall. I have a life; sure my job kind of sucks, my co-workers are constantly trying to sabotage me and I’m basically homeless while I live on my best friend’s couch but the thing is, I’m surviving. I really like not being indentured into slavery, it’s nice. I’m really enjoying not being enslaved by a random stranger who happens to think that abducting people is a good way to make friends, or whatever. I’m not going to just follow what you or anyone else says. Including this ‘Jack’”

Timothy seemed to visibly deflate at Rhys’ response and removed his hand from the younger man’s shoulder. Nisha on the other hand, appeared entirely bored, just looking down at the blood that was dried under her fingernails.

“Look, as moving as that speech was, sweet thing, I’m done negotiating. We were given a job and we’re gonna do it but since you don’t seem to want to do things the easy way like TimTams suggested, we’re gonna have to do it the hard way.”

As soon as his eyes met hers, he fell into the same trance that he had felt the night before. A feeling like all his limbs were jelly and that his vision was just mirroring the burring happening in his mind. Except, unlike Jack who left Rhys like that so that the vampire could do as he pleased, Nisha started speaking soon after the magic took effect.

“Now here’s what’s going to happen, you are going to be a good boy and go back to your room. Then you are going to sit on the bed and wait there like the precious little present you are until Jack comes home. Then, this trance will be over and you are no longer bound to my instructions, got that Sweet Cheeks?”

“Yes, Mistress”

As Rhys left the room, Nisha visibly perked up, obviously pleased with his response.

“Hmm, so that’s what his subconscious picked up on. I think this one’s gonna be a lot of fun…”

~~~  
It was about another two hours before Jack was home; after being called to work early (because apparently interns thought that putting various limbs into stalker cages was a genius thing to do) he was forced to leave his prize from the night earlier with Nish and TimTam. Needless to say, he was not happy about it. The entire day he was left thinking about the boy with his adorable blush and delicious smelling blood. He hadn’t even been able to get a taste before he was forced to leave and that made him all the more eager to return. So, when the clock struck the end of the working day, he was quick to make his leave, ignoring Meg’s shout that they still had things to do. Handsome Jack simply walked into his personal elevator and made his way up to his penthouse. Helios wouldn’t blow up if he wasn’t there for one meeting and he had something much more important to attend to.

However, when he walked through the hall and into the living room, he was surprised to find the kid wasn’t there. Nisha seemed to be lounging on the couch with Timothy’s head on her lap while watching some kind of kids show. He’d left specific instructions that they were to make sure the boy didn’t leave the apartment, that they had to tell him what was expected of him and have him waiting for Jack in the living room when he got home. They better have achieved at least one of those things.

“Where’s the kid?”

“Hello to you too and we had to put him in timeout”

“What happened?”

“He didn’t take the thrall news too well and I knew he wasn’t going to listen to anything else without freaking out so I banished him to the bedroom, you’re welcome”

“What? I’m supposed to thank you for not doing your jobs. I shouldn’t even pay you for this…”

As soon as the conversation had turned south Timothy had gently raised his head off Nisha’s lap, sitting up in his seat and by the end of Jack’s sentence Nisha was up, fangs out and pining Jack to the wall behind him.

“You might wanna rethink that stance, Handsome”

“Calm down, Nish. I wouldn’t dream of not paying you, no matter how awful you were at the job”

Nisha released Jack as he handed her a new gun upgrade, the regular payment that didn’t involve sexual favours.

“Good… By the way, I was wondering… What is the kid’s name?”

Silence.

“I knew it! You don’t even know his name. You just picked a random boy with a cute face off the street without even asking his name.”

“You were supposed to find out his name!”

“Nah, you have made your bed and you’re gonna have to lie in it, Hun. Good luck flirting your way into getting this boy to trust you when you don’t even know his name. Me and Timmy are off now, I’m done playing babysitter”

Nisha started to walk off with Timothy obediently trailing behind, before she stopped just when she reached the doorway.

“Oh, but be sure to contact me when the boy’s grown up a little and ready to do something a bit more interesting. Goodbye, Handsome”

And with that she was off, leaving Jack to wonder how in hell he was going to convince the younger man to voluntarily stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's still kind of set-upy but rest assured that Jack and Rhys will talk in the next chapter!  
> Also thank you all for your support I appreciate it soo much, I'm sorry for not responding to the comments, I'm really shy and tend to freak out when it comes to talking to people online, even if its just to respond to something. But know that your comments are just really encouraging me to write this and they really brighten my day. Thank you soo much :)


	4. Why Did It Have To Be This Kid?

Rhys couldn’t even keep track of the amount of time that he had spent sitting there on the bed, mind blank as he stared at the wall in front of him. But he didn’t feel bored, no matter the time that passed. He simply felt numb, mindlessly obeying Nisha’s commands.

It was only when he heard his captors talking with a third voice that had just walked into the house that he was free. Feeling lighter and less dazed, he could finally feel the emotions that had been repressed; namely his anger. He knew it was stupid to blindly attack, but he was still angry. He didn’t care, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.  


Rhys carefully looked around the room, observing the different objects in search of something he could use to make his escape. He quickly zeroed in on a lamp sitting on the bedside table. Bingo. Grasping tightly, he positioned himself to the side of the door and waited for what seemed like ages before the voices ceased and he heard footsteps walking down the hallway. As soon as the door opened, he attacked.

It… didn’t end well. The vampire was clearly prepared for him, effortlessly catching the lamp in one hand while pushing Rhys so hard that the air was knocked out of him as he fell against the bed. 

“Nice to see you too, pumpkin”

Panting heavily to try and regain the oxygen that had been pushed out of his lungs, Rhys glared up at the smug look on the older man’s face, he was clearly amused by the whole situation.

“Fuck you”

The vampire’s eyes darkened.

“I don’t appreciate you using that kind of language”

“Yeah? Well get used to it, asshole”

Jack looked even more annoyed by that response but quickly schooled his features into a more neutral look with a sigh.

“I thought we could talk this out in a civilised manner but obviously you want to be a little shit. Fine but I’ll warn you now that if you continue to act like this I will be forced to punish you. And trust me, you won’t enjoy it… or maybe you will, you look like you’d be interested in all kinds of messed up shit. Isn’t that right, kitten?”

Rhys just glowered at him, not even dignifying that with a response.

“I’m going to take that as a yes” Jack cooed at him, moving to give Rhys a hand to help him up. The younger man stubbornly ignored it, instead picking himself up off the ground as Jack rolled his eyes.

“Well, you sure are stubborn aren’t ya? Never mind, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you, I just want to talk. Let’s start from the beginning, my name is Jack Lawrence and your name is…?”

“None of your business”

“Really, kitten? You’re going to be like this. Tell me your name”

“No”

“Tell me”

“Piss off”

Jack couldn’t hide his annoyance now, he looked close to infuriated.

“Tell me your goddamn name, right now.”

“Not gonna happen. Why do you even want to know anyway? You don’t seem a big fan of using names anyway” Rhys was starting to get interested, though really, he should be fearful of the vampire quickly growing more agitated in front of him. He was just interested in what was causing him to get so angry. Yes, Rhys was disobeying his order and being indignant, but it seemed like more than that.

“I just need to know” 

“Why?”

“You don’t need to know why, kid. Now, I’m not going to ask you again, tell me your name”

He couldn’t think of any reason why the man would be so insistent. Why was his name important? He tried to think. Name, name, name. Why was a name important? All in all, the only time he could remember when a name had significance was when Yvett- then it clicked.

“Wait, no way. You’re like a witch aren’t you?”

“What?” Jack looked confused by Rhys’ sudden question. “There’s no way I’m like those old, cat-obsessed freaks”

“No, that’s not what I meant. You need my name. You want to make me your thrall but you need my name in order to bind me, just like when a witch binds their thrall. Unless I give it to you, you’ll never be able to use it against me”

He looked triumphant as Jack glared at him, annoyed for a different reason now as he was hoping to trick the boy, to make this all easier on both of them. But no, the boy needed to be suspicious and question. 

“Yes. That is true, but you can’t keep this from me so let’s make this easier, just tell me”

“No”

“Fine, you can be disobedient all you want, I will find out what your name is”

Rhys just looked on with a smug expression, seemly unconcerned with the threat.

“Good luck”

Jack didn’t even bother to respond as he stormed out of the room leaving Rhys standing there, the confident look never leaving his face. Jack could try all he wanted but Rhys knew that so long as he didn’t know the boy’s name, he was safe. Well…safe from being made a thrall anyway, death was still very much on the table if he didn’t play his cards right, didn’t keep Jack interested but safely out of reach. It was a dangerous game to play but really, it wasn’t like he had any other choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! School kind of attacked me and my cat had to have surgery so I've been very busy.
> 
> Though again, thank you soo much for your comments, kudos and bookmarks; they encourage me so much. Ya'll are the best. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)


	5. Athena

“I trust you have good news because let me tell you, after dealing with the assholes at work and the few minutes I spent with that brat; I feel ready to strangle someone…”

“Um, well, um… not particularly but um…“

“Hand the phone over, Sugar.”

Jack could hear Timothy sigh in relief, the phone quickly swapping hands with the other person listening in on the conversation.

“Jack, you’re not gonna like the news”

“What?” Jack demanded through gritted teeth.

“There is nothing on him. At all”

“Wha- How?!”

“Don’t know. Might have had his identity erased, might be illegal; could be anything. All I know is that I checked everywhere I could; talked to Roland to see if he had gotten involved with the police, got Tannis to check the government archives, even got Wilhelm to hack some more secure files, but no. There are no official documents about the boy whatsoever, just found out from Scooter that he goes by Rhys - an alias mind you - and that he seems to work as a programmer at a small-time software company”

“So no name whatsoever? Why did I even ask you? Call Athena over, I need to do some looking of my own”

“Will do. Thank you for asking soo nicely” 

“See ya, Balloon Tits”

Click.

~~~

Bored. That’s how Rhys felt. Really, really bored. It seemed like hours since his captor had visited him and while he felt confident for a while; there was only so long that he could sit on a bed with a smug smile on his face. He just willed for something to happen. While he was waiting he had looked around the room yet again, focusing less on which object was the heaviest this time, more so on which was the most entertaining. He could only find a few of books (and strangely enough a Gideon bible? He wasn’t sure if it was a joke or he had managed to find the one religious vampire in the world); the books didn’t seem that interesting, just a few travel guides for the Edens, a dictionary and an instructional book on how to knit. Rhys hadn’t really read since university and none of the books appealed at all so he was just left there, lying on the bed, suffering from some serious internet withdrawal.

It was another 30 minutes before someone joined him. He didn’t turn around, simply acknowledged them with a question.

“You gonna let me go yet?”

“I don’t really have the authority to do that, I’m just the babysitter.”

“Again? Why kidnap someone when you aren’t even going to be with them at any point in time? What is the point?” Rhys turned around then and noticed that the purple-haired woman from the bar was there standing in the doorway. “Wait, I know you! Your name is…um….”

“Athena, and I don’t know what’s going on, nor do I care to find out. I just came to check whether you were dead or not. I see you’re not, so my job is done”

Athena turned to leave but Rhys was too curious to let her go that easy. He barely got out a “Wait!” before she was out the door, but he quickly followed her. He waited until she was sitting down at a table in the living room before he sat opposite her and started asking questions.

“Who are you? How do you know Jack? You don’t seem like a vampire…”

She looked annoyed at the questions but after taking a breath, she seemed to take pity on his situation and started answering his questions.

“I already said my name is Athena and Jack’s my employer. Also I don’t look like a vampire because I’m not a vampire, I met Jack through my girlfriend.”

“Your girlfriend is a vampire?! Isn’t that…weird? Did you choose to date her or…?”

“What do you want? My life story? I’m not discussing her with you.”

She seemed to get more defensive and closed off when he asked about her girlfriend so Rhys decided that it was best to just change the topic, after all, he had many more things he wanted to find out. 

“What was with the two people who were here before, Timothy and Nisha?”

“Oh, them. I’ve worked with Timothy in the past. He’s a good enough shot” Shot? Why would he need to shoot anything? “too nice but he can get the job done. Nisha gets distracted too easily and usually suggests victory orgies afterwards but she’s…okay in a fight”

“Okay…that wasn’t really what I was expecting. I was expecting you know, a brief introduction to them not an evaluation on their combat abilities but okay”

After a brief pause, Athena seemed to deem the conversation over and just turned her attention to her phone, leaving Rhys feeling kind of lost. He was hoping that they could talk more, even though she seemed to not be a talker, she was better than the vampires he’d previously met. He noticed a TV in the corner and decided to test his boundaries. Athena didn’t seem to care, too distracted by whatever was on her phone.

He watched show after show, occasionally being asked questions like “Are you allergic to anything?”, “Are you vegan?” and “Are you a ‘hipster douchebag’?”. Rhys just figured she was collecting information for Jack and that it was better to just answer her questions honestly. The last thing he wanted was to have to face food poisoning in a strange house that looked like his very presence there was permanently tainting it. 

“Jack’s going to be here soon. He told me to let you know that he expects you to be waiting for him here in the living room when he gets back.”

Rhys suddenly turned the television off and stood up, wiping away some invisible dust before announcing “Well I guess that’s my time to leave”

Athena looked unimpressed, “Jack said you were being difficult”

“Oh, I’m sorry for not being a good little victim after literally being kidnapped. I don’t care if you don’t approve”

“I never said I didn’t approve.”

Athena kept her tone cool and face in the neutral glare that seemed to be her resting expression but Rhys couldn’t help but openly show his incredulousness.

“What?”

“Jack is used to just getting what he wants, when he wants it. He needs to learn that that’s not always how things work.”

There was a bang from the front of the house, a door opening and closing along with an obnoxious shout of “Daddy’s home!”

Athena swiftly stood and made towards the door. Just before she reached it, she turned towards Rhys and tipped her head towards him.

“Good luck, Rhys”

And with that she left to meet with Jack, leaving Rhys feeling like he may have an ally here after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you can't get characterisation right but just keep introducing new characters anyway, whoop whoop.  
> But honestly I didn't think anyone would actually read this but I'm glad y'all are enjoying it :D Particularly with StubbornAsFuck!Rhys cause he holds a special place in my heart <3
> 
> Oh and, in case you haven't noticed yet, my update schedule is... non-existant. I just kind of write when I feel like it and I'm really lazy and have mental health issues soo there probably won't be consistant updates but I'll try once a week? Here's hoping! 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!


End file.
